Yes, you read that right. The Menzingers have just announced a trio of Rented World shows.

The Punks from Scranton (setting for the Fictional drama The US Office) will be celebrating the birthday of their beloved, brilliant fourth album, Rented World, with a one-off date in Philadelphia on November 29 and two nights at London’s Underworld on December 6 – 7.

Amusingly, at the start of 2024, during a Kerrang! fan Q&A with Greg Barnett, the frontman was asked about any 10-year anniversary plans, to which Greg responded: “No, we don’t. I will admit this: I texted the band and our manager and I said, ‘Hey, what if we just did a one-off show for the anniversary?’ But I sent it late at night and got no response. So I’m going to take that as a ‘no’. But then again, nothing is ever written off in Menzingers World. I couldn’t see it being a whole tour, but a one-off show would be good.”

Fortunately, it looks like that text did get a reply after all.

The Philly punks have just recently released their seventh studio album ‘Some of It Was True’.

Speaking about the record, vocalist/guitarist Greg Barnett says, “Written over the last two and a half years in hotels, backstages, basements, and rehearsal rooms and recorded during a life-changing retreat down south, Some Of It Was True is the most realised version of what we set out to do when we started this band 17 years ago – have fun and be ourselves.

“This record just feels different for us… It’s a really important one in our catalogue, and a pivotal moment in our history. We have the liberty of our fans growing with us now, and after writing these lyrical songs about where we are in life, we decided to take other peoples’ stories and make something bigger out of it.”

Check out the video for ‘Hope is a Dangerous Little Thing’ below.

And be sure to catch The Menzingers at the following Rented World shows:

November

29 November Philadelphia, PA – TLA

December

6 London, UK – The Underworld
7 London, UK – The Underworld

The Scottish singer announced in July that she would be releasing some solo music and heading out on tour, however, there was no indication of when we could expect to hear any new music.

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A post shared by Lauren Mayberry (@laurenevemayberry)

The pop band’s lead singer didn’t keep fans waiting for long, as on August 11th , she revealed that her first single “Are You Awake?” would be with us in September.

Over the weekend, Mayberry dropped the highly anticipated single, as well as a music video for the song.

“Are You Awake?” was written by Mayberry and Canadian singer-songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr, who has collaborated on songwriting with other UK artists such as Adele and Niall Horan.

The piano-led ballad is a slight leap from the energetic synth-pop we have come to expect from CHVRCHES, and in a recent press release, Lauren shared that “I was thinking a lot about loneliness and homesickness, and as soon as Tobias started playing the chords, the lyrics and melody came to me really quickly. I finished the song with my friend Matthew Koma, who really understood what I was trying to say.”

“For a long time, I couldn’t imagine doing anything outside of CHVRCHES but I think some things that I needed to write had to be done from purely my own point of view. I never really thought I’d write a piano ballad, or a solo album full stop, so life really is full of surprises. I am really looking forward to this chapter and can’t wait for people to hear more of the music.”

Though Lauren is venturing out on her own, her career with CHVRCHES is far from over. The trio announced last month that in celebration of the 10 year anniversary of their debut album, The Bones Of What You Believe, they would be releasing a re-issue of their 2013 LP on October 13th. The re-issue of the album will include 4 previously unheard tracks, as well as 5 live recordings. The band has given fans a taste of what’s to come by releasing “Manhattan”, one of the unheard songs that didn’t make it onto the album’s original release.

You can listen to “Manhattan” below.

For tickets to Lauren Mayberry’s upcoming tour, click here.

Tour dates:

05/10/2023 – SWG3 TV Studio – Glasgow, UK

06/10 – O2 Academy – Birmingham, UK

08/10 – Academy 2 – Manchester, UK

09/10 – Koko – London, UK

11/10 – Melkweg Oz – Amsterdam, Netherlands

12/10 – Lido – Berlin, Germany

13/10 – Strom – Munich, Germany

15/10 – La Maroquinerie – Paris, France

16/10 – Luxor – Cologne, Germany

17/10 – Rock Cafe – Prague, Czech Republic

19/10 – Flex – Vienna, Austria

21/10 – Bogen F – Zurich, Switzerland

22/10 – Magnolia – Milan, Italy

24/10 – La Nau – Barcelona, Spain

25/10 – Sala Copernico – Madrid, Spain

The new version was released to mark the 10 year anniversary of their single “Pompeii,” taken from their debut album, Bad Blood. The track reached Number 2 in the UK Charts back in 2013 and is currently included in the Top 50 most streamed songs of all time in the UK.

The orchestral rendition of the track is titled “Pompeii MMXXIII.” Listen below.

Speaking on the collaboration with Hans Zimmer, Bastille frontman Dan Smith said, “Having the opportunity to work with the living legend that is Hans Zimmer, and his brilliant team, has been an absolute dream. Working with them on this new version of ‘Pompeii’ has been incredible and has put the biggest smiles on our faces throughout the whole wonderfully surreal experience.”

Smith had already been working with Hans Zimmer on other projects, with this being how this alternative version of “Pompeii” came to be created.

Hans Zimmer shared his thoughts on the track, saying, “It’s been proven time and time again that a beautiful, crafted song by a great band can have many lives and ‘Pompeii’ is a shining example of this.”

Zimmer continued, “Working hand in hand with Bastille and my team at Bleeding Fingers has been an exhilarating experience and an honour to be part of this remarkable journey. I’m so excited to share this rendition with you all!”

BASTILLE and HANS ZIMMER – POMPEII MMXXIII – OUT NOWhttps://t.co/roMzTG4JGR@HansZimmer pic.twitter.com/dtrmTVBgj5

— BASTILLE (@bastille) September 1, 2023

Bastille are currently touring the US to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Bad Blood. Their UK tour dates ended in July, with a commemorative double album version of Bad Blood also being released in July too.

The special edition reissue includes previously unheard demos, covers and live performances. The reissue is titled Bad Blood X (10th Anniversary Edition) and is available for purchase here.

In a press statement, frontman Dan Smith said, “When I started working on the songs that became ‘Bad Blood’ 10 years ago at a laptop in my bedroom, I never imagined that they’d be heard by so many people and then take us all over the world – it’s really mad to think about.”

He continued, “Ten years on, we wanted to put something special together to celebrate the album, whilst not messing with it too much. We had so much fun digging back through old artwork, photos and videos from that time to make a totally new package of artworks. My Dad even found an old CD-R of some of demos in the attic (that somehow people managed to pry out of my hands for a new 7” vinyl as part of this release – trust me… I didn’t think those versions would ever get heard).”

Speaking on the reissue, Smith concluded, “Putting all this together was such a nice way to step back into that world for a moment, and we really hope our fans feel the same way.”

Stream Bad Blood X (10th Anniversary Edition) here.